KCK Executive Committee Member Duran Kalkan said that "the Turkish army is hostile to every Kurd, hostile to every patriotic Kurd."

The first part of this interview can be read here and the second part here

After the lethal actions of the guerrilla, the Turkish state attacked infrastructure in Rojava. How do you evaluate these attacks?

The statement that the enemy attacked Rojava after the guerrilla actions is not right. This may have been the timing, but the guerrilla war in the Medya Defense Zones has nothing to do with Rojava. There is a war happening. It is not correct to say that the Turkish army is attacking, burning and destroying Rojava because of the guerrilla actions. The Turkish army is hostile to every Kurd, hostile to every patriotic Kurd. In fact, they are attacking less than they otherwise could because of the guerrilla. If the Turkish state was not afraid of the guerrilla, it would not only occupy Afrin and Serekaniye but would also occupy its way to Qamishlo, Hesekê and everywhere. They cannot because they are afraid of the guerrilla. That is why there are fewer attacks because of those guerrilla actions. They already have plans. If they find the opportunity, if they can afford it, they will carry out invasion attacks. But because of the fear of the guerrilla, they can’t do it, so they carry out air strikes. First of all, we must understand this correctly. We must approach it correctly. Corrections are necessary. I mean, the people of Rojava, the North East and Syria have already understood this. They took to the streets to celebrate when the guerrilla carried out actions. They celebrated the guerrilla. They know very well that guerrilla action is the strongest act of self-defense. They are attached to the guerrilla with their souls and everything. Let’s see this in this way. On the other hand, the Turkish state is brazenly attacking Rojava and Northeast Syria whenever it has the opportunity. This man, Hakan Fidan, has already come out and openly said that we will hit and break everything. We will destroy all living spaces, service areas, infrastructure and superstructure, and they attack and destroy whenever they have the opportunity. These attacks are completely based on this. We see and understand this.

Our people of Rojava, the people of Northeast Syria, have given martyrs. I commemorate their martyrs with respect. The people took to the streets, claiming a free life and democratic system. This clearly expresses that the people will develop resistance and grow. This is the right attitude. But we need to see this. The current AKP and MHP governments are attacking all patriotic Kurds wherever they find them. Everyone should know this well. The current attacks are all directed against the living spaces of society, against the service areas. They are hitting hospitals, railways, schools, workplaces, production centers and roads. By hitting all areas of life and service, they actually want to bring social life to collapse. This is such a brutal, aggressive and genocidal attitude. If they could, they would invade and occupy. Everyone should see this.

If we pay attention, there is not much condemnation, not much noise. There are those who oppose Israel’s attacks in Gaza because such an occupation and genocide is going on. Right, we are also against it. But what about the situation in Rojava? Why didn’t anyone speak out when Hakan Fidan announced that they would strike? Why are they now sitting silent while the people of North and East Syria are being bombarded so much?

I mean really, the sensitive circles in Turkey should expose this situation better. Those who are democrats cannot be partners to these attacks. This is the measure of democracy. We said that the stance in Imrali, the stance against genocidal attacks, the stance against the Kurdish people’s rights to freedom is the litmus paper. The litmus paper of democracy. This is the reality. Therefore, one can never be a democrat without opposing these attacks. Everyone should know this. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a great democratization struggle against this fascist, colonialist, genocidal mentality and politics. Turkey’s revolutionaries and democrats have not emphasized this much. Everyone should try to explain this. There is nothing acceptable about this. It is a very despicable situation. The Turkish state is massacring civil society. There is no crime against humanity more serious than this. Because these are all genocidal attacks, genocidal practices.

Of course, I share the pain of our people in Rojava and the people of Northeast Syria. So there are difficulties, there are pressures. But I would like to say the following: there is no other way to achieve a free and democratic life. It is the enemy we are facing. Everyone should know it well. The Turkish state is fascist, colonialist, genocidal. It is the enemy of Kurds, the enemy of peoples, the enemy of freedom and democracy. Wherever there are Kurds, wherever there are peoples who want to live free and democratic lives, the Turkish state attacks and massacres them. This is the truth. So everyone should know and understand this. Such attacks should not intimidate or discourage us. In particular, no one should leave their land. I mean, they are already doing this to make people flee, they are doing it to make people evacuate. Then they bring their mobs and settle them in those areas. We have seen this being done on our lands. Everyone should learn a lesson. There should not be even an inch of regression or leaving the land. But, of course, only staying is not enough. Therefore, the people must prepare themselves, train and organize themselves according to the requirements of this war and attacks. In other words, they must develop a lifestyle, a system of life, develop its infrastructure, develop its measures. In short, it is necessary to develop resistance, to retaliate, to really take revenge. Such attacks cannot go unanswered. It is unacceptable for patriotism and revolutionism to leave attacks unanswered. Measures are necessary. Everyone should take measures. Measures can be taken. We should not say there are none. This means that a free and democratic life will be based on defending ourselves against all kinds of attacks. We will develop our defense system. We will establish our self-defense. Every North and East Syrian woman, youth, child, elderly person is a freedom fighter. They are a defense force, they are obliged to defend themselves, their places, their homeland. This must be their consciousness. On this basis, they must educate and organize themselves, and do whatever is necessary in the name of education and organization. This is the right thing. If we are like this, all these attacks will be broken. Once again, I commemorate the martyrs of our peoples of Northern and Eastern Syria with respect and gratitude. I salute their resistance, their attitude, their resistance. I also call on them to organize and defend themselves more strongly.

How do you evaluate recent discussions between the Turkish and Iraqi state on a possible energy route?

The fight over the energy route is one of the biggest fights of this year. It is said that the Tayyip Erdoğan administration is forcing the Iraqi administration to create a common energy route. What they want is to reorganize the old route through Iraq, which was developed by England in the early 1900s, and then tried to put it into practice on the basis of the German-Ottoman alliance, but was prevented and failed because of the First World War. It was rumored that there is such an effort. There were supposedly negotiations for this. If there are such things, this has come to naught. Because there is a war and this war is being waged by the Turkish state. The AKP and MHP are waging it with their Kurdish hostility and by committing a Kurdish genocide. Neither the Kurds are responsible for this, nor the PKK.

As long as the current Turkish state remains in politics with this mentality, that route will always be a battlefield. In a war zone, how would they expect to transport energy? If there was such a plan, it has all fallen apart. I guess the Iraqi state understands this. The fascist AKP administration declare war, go to the UN, say that they will seize 30 kilometers away from its borders, and then they say ‘come and make profit here’. I mean, are these capitalists so unwise? If they were that unwise, they wouldn’t have taken over the world.

So those who are expecting this energy route to work are unwise. They haven’t understood the logic of the capitalist system. We hope that the Iraqi state and the political forces in Iraq will learn from this. No one can free themselves from a well with the rope of Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish state. They cannot win anything. Therefore, they should not be deceived. We believe that there will be no such deception. There will be pressure from the Iraqi administration, whatever happens. But then there was a statement from Iraq. They said that the Turkish state violated Iraq's borders 22 thousand times. They violated the rules of war. It entered the Iraqi state, crossed its borders without permission. So if Iraq is a state, it must protect its sovereignty. They say that they have no water, but this is not the way. This water is Kurdish water. It is neither moral nor conscientious to use Kurdish water to destroy the Kurds. So it shouldn’t be like that. We believe it will not be like that.

It has become clear that there is no point in Turkey bragging about how it is “strong like this” and “strong like that”. Turkey is actually on the brink of collapse. It is in the process of collapse, trying to scare everyone and survive by attacking left and right and committing brutal massacres, but it can and will not survive. This should not be too surprising. Therefore, the countdown has started for the Tayyip Erdoğan administration. This is the process of collapse. That was already seen in the elections.

Also, the Iraq elections took place the other day, and we saw the results. Where was the best outcome? It was in Kirkuk. What was revealed in Kirkuk? The results of the war in Zap were revealed. If you attack so much, if you try to occupy Kurdistan and expel Kurds from their homeland, Kurds will react. Kirkuk gave that reaction. Both with its participation and the patriotic result. I congratulate all the people of Kirkuk on their success. A similar situation happened in Şengal. These results are actually results against these occupying attacks. They are results of a reaction. Let’s analyze the results well. Let everyone learn lessons. Who lost? The KDP lost. Why? Because it rode on Tayyip Erdoğan’s horse. You cannot go anywhere on the horse of Tayyip Erdoğan’s occupying, colonialist, genocidal mentality and politics. I guess those inside the KDP see this too. They will understand why this happened to them. They overestimate themselves so much, they have lost so much, and they changed as a result of the policy they followed. What has emerged? Those who bowed down to the Turkish Republic, those who collaborated, those who served, lost. Those who opposed and stood against the Turkish occupation in Iraq and in the Kurdish regions won great victories. The areas and segments that the AKP-MHP administration tried to crush with attacks achieved great success in the elections. It is clear that these results are as such. Everyone should see this then. Everyone should see the truth. This is a good reaction. We understand it.

What will happen in the end? Of course, we want these reactions to become more organized. We want it to be clearer. Everyone should take courage from this. There is nothing to be afraid of. The era of the Turkish state’s rule in the Middle East is over. In the past, yes, it had power and the world was behind it. The system had given the Turkish Republic the task of keeping the Middle East under control. It was made a gendarme of the Middle East. Accordingly, it was given support. That support no longer exists. The strategic position of the Turkish state has disappeared. It no longer has any function or role in the Middle East. Therefore, Kurdish politics should see this well. All other parties, organizations, Iraqi politics should see it well, everyone should see it well. That old era is over. So there is no need to be afraid. The existing state of power is already being revealed in its defeat.

More of this defeat is to come in the future, and we will see what will happen. They (the Turkish army) will run full speed without looking back. Or they will be crushed like in the past few days. There is no remedy for them, there is no way. Our Central Headquarters Commander made this clear. Then everyone should learn from this. Those were not empty words. In this respect, we must be stronger, we must act with more will, we must be more courageous. Let us take a more effective stance against these colonialist, genocidal, occupying attacks that do not recognize Iraqi sovereignty. Let society take a more effective stance. I call on the people of the South [Bashûr] to do this. I call on the women and youth of the South. Especially the youth, the revolutionary patriotic stance in the South must be more dynamic, more effective. They must go against the occupiers.

There were martyrs of this resistance. I commemorate comrades Helmet, Welat, Memyan and Hüseyin with respect, love and gratitude. Comrade Helmet was a valiant son of the people of South Kurdistan. He dealt the heaviest blow to the occupiers in Tepê Amediyê. This is the standard, the patriotic standard of the South. This is the right line. Therefore, especially the youth of South Kurdistan should take Comrade Helmet as an example for themselves as a whole. They should struggle on this basis, fearlessly and organizationally oppose the occupier and genocide. And we believe this will happen. This is developing. The time is coming when the Turkish state will be expelled not only from Bashûr but from all of Kurdistan. Step by step, we are moving towards that process. Everyone must see this. Therefore, everyone must embrace their patriotic duty and responsibility to clear the Turkish state out of South Kurdistan. Our call is on this basis. We also salute all these resisting forces.